Exercising apparatus.



PATENTED APR. 21, 1903.

J. E. NIGHTINGALE. EXERGISING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED HAB- 6, 1902.

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PATENTED APR. 21, 19.03.

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J. B. NIGHTINGALE. EXE'RGISING' APPARATUS. APPLICATION rum) run. 5. 1902.

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I v 1 1 a h a m WITNESSES UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

I JOHN E. NIGHTINGALE, OF NEW YORK, Y.,-ASSIGNOR TO ALEXANDER A.

WHITELY, OF NEW YORK, Y.

EXERCISIN'G APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 726,095, dated April 21, 1903.

Application filed March 5, 1902.

To all whom, it may concern.

Be it known that I, J OHN E. NIGHTINGALE, a resident of New York' city, Manhattan borough, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Exercising Apparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. My invention relates to exercising appara tus, more particularly to that class of exer- I0 cising devices employing exercising cords or connections, and has for its object to provide an inexpensive exercising device which will be simple in construction and in which; the exercising cords or connections may be readily adjusted to different positions, so that a great variety of exercising movementscan be had.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel details of improvement and so combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, wherein- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved exercising apparatus mounted in position for use, and Fig. 2 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, a a indicate suitable cords, flexible supports, 0 or connections, preferably of non-elastic material, which are adapted to be vertically disposed, as shown, one end of said cords or connections being provided with loops, hooks, or the like 0. which are adapted to engage in the eyes or loops a of a suspension-hook or the like a, which in turn is adapted to engage a hook or other support or upon a ceiling or door- 'Way,asshown. Itwillbeunderstood,however, that the cords or connections a a may be pro- 40 vided with any other convenient means for attaching or suspending the same from an upper support. The opposite ends 01 d of the cords Ct a are preferably provided with a bar or the like d horizontally disposed, as shown, 5 said ends of .-the cords being attached to the bar 01 at or near opposite ends thereof. This bar or support (1 is provided with a cord or other connection e, having a loop or ring 6, which is is adapted to engage a lower support, such as a hook or the like e upon the floor or other support. The connection 6 is Serial No. 96,730. (No model.)

provided with a suitable device fsuch as a tent-cord fastener, clutch device, strap, or the likeffor drawing the cords a, a taut. By this means thev tension of these cords may be readily regulated; but it is obvious that the device for regulating the tension of the cords a a mayassume other convenient forms and may be connected directly to the cords at convenient points or upon any other desired part of the apparatus, and the ends (1 d of the connections a, a may be provided with other means than'that shown and described for attaching them to a support. d indicates a brace or bar provided with openings d d at or near opposite ends, through which openings the cords a 'apass, which bar is preferably located at the upper portion of the cords 0b a, as shown, the object of this bar being to hold the connections a a separated and apart a predetermined distance. The cords a a may in some instances be directly connected to and supported by a bar d and said bar provided with a suitable device for attaching it to a'support in place of the method of supportingthe cords above described.

Upon the cords or connections a a I provide suitable blocks, frictional sliding pieces, or-the like 71. In the drawings I have shown this device it in the form ofz'a block having irregular or angular passages h of such size as to allow the same to be moved frictionally along'said connections a and by reason of such irregular or angular passages to be maintained in the set position upon the cords a without danger of slipping when the apparatus is in use, the angular or irregular passages in the blocks h tendingto bind the same upon the cords when the same are taut or pulled outwardly. In placeof' these blocks or the like h, provided with means for permitting movement thereof alongthe connections and maintaining the same in the desired positions, analogous means for accomplishing the same result may be utilized. Connected to and-proj ectin g from these-blocks or devices it are exercising cords or connections 12, preferably elastic or flexible cords, which are provided with handles or the like i 'i attheir extremities. I prefer to make these flexible cords b of a single piece of elastic cord passing through openings h in the blocks h, and upon this cord I provide suitable stops or washers Z) Z) at points equidistant from its ends, as shown, to prevent the cord 1) from passing through the openings in blocks h laterally.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a simplified embodiment of the invention, consisting of a single cord or connection a, provided at opposite ends with loops, hooks, or the like, one end, a being adapted to be attached to an upper support a through the medium of a link or S-hook having eyes a a, and the other looped end, e, of the cord at is adapted to be attached to a lower support e and the said cord is provided with a suitable tension device fat or near one end-such as a strap, tent-cord fasener, or the likefor regulating the tension thereof. Upon the cord a is a block h, similar to that hereinbefore described, having, the angular or irregular opening h therein, so as to be frictionally movable along the same and held in the set position, or a frictional sliding pulley device having means for binding the same in the desired positions along the cord a may be substituted, and connected to and extending from this device h are suitable exercising cords or connections I) I), provided with handles 2' 2' at their free ends.

It will be seen that the exercising-cords b I) being connected to the blocks or devices h, which are movable along the connections a, as described, may readily be raised or lowered to various points upon the said connections and maintained at such points until a diiferent exercising movement is desired, when the connections b b may be easily moved to any other point along the cords a, (see dotted lines, Fig. 2,) thus permitting of a great variety of exercising movements which would not be obtainable were the exercising-cords permanently fixed at a predetermined point or points. It will be understood, of course, that by loosening the tension of the cords a by means of the tension device described the blocks h, having the exercising-cords b, may be more easily moved along the connections to various points thereon when desired.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. An exercising apparatus, comprising a flexible support adapted for securement at its ends to a rigid support whereby to maintain said flexible support under tension, a device provided with an irregular passage receiving said support, the walls of said passage snugly embracing said support and the sides of said passage that are in line in the direction of strain applied to said device serving to bear firmly upon the abutting surfaces of the support when said device is pulled, to cause the support to be firmly bound in said passage, and exercising devices carried by said adjustable device.

2. An exercising apparatus of the character described, comprising flexible supports provided with means at one end for attaching the same to an upper support and at the other end for attaching the same to a lowersupport, means for regulating the tension of said flexible supports, said connections being provided with blocks having irregular passages through which the flexible supports frictionally pass and so arranged that said blocks will be maintained in the set position upon the flexible supports, exercisingcords extending from said blocks and passing through openings therein, said cords being provided with handles at their extremities, and means for limiting the movement of the exercising-cords through the openings in the blocks, substan tially as herein shown and described.

3. An exercising apparatus of the character described, comprising flexible supports provided at one end with means for attaching them to an upper support, a connection at their opposite ends provided with means for attaching the same to a lower support and for regulating the tension of said flexible supports, means for maintaining the connections a predetermined distance from each other, exercising-cords extending from the flexible supports and provided with means for moving the same to difierent points upon the flexible supports and maintaining them in the set position, the exercising-cords being provided with handles at their extremities, substantially as described.

JOHN E. NIGHTINGALE.

Witnesses:

BELLE PEYSER, HENRY STOROK. 

